1. Field of the Description
The present description relates, in general, to amusement and theme park rides, and, more particularly, to a new Ferris wheel (or rotating wheel, observation wheel, big wheel, or the like) ride that provides additional, varied, and, in some cases, user-controlled vehicle movements relative to a central rotating wheel or hub.
2. Relevant Background
Amusement and theme parks are popular worldwide with hundreds of millions of people visiting the parks each year. Park operators continuously seek new designs for rides that attract and continue to entertain guests. Many rides have been utilized for many years with the only changes being cosmetic such as changing theme elements (e.g., to have images and vehicles from a popular movie, television show, or video game) or vehicle designs. Such cosmetic changes do not change the ride experience to any degree as the vehicle moves in the same way, at the same speeds (or ranges of speeds), and over the same predictable path.
For example, while still popular, Ferris wheels have provided substantially the same, predictable experience for over one hundred years. The traditional Ferris wheel, which also may be known as a rotating wheel, observation wheel, big wheel, or other names, includes a rotating upright (or vertical) wheel with passenger cars (or gondolas, capsules, or the like) attached to the rim. By “upright” or vertical, it is meant that the rotating wheel or hub rotates about a central axis that is above and parallel to the ground plane or load/unload platform similar to a typical bicycle wheel. The vehicles are attached to the rim of the wheel such that as the wheel turns the cars are kept upright. Typically, the passenger car is free to swing via a direct pivotal connection to the rim, with gravity acting on the slightly swinging vehicle to keep the passenger vehicle in a lower, upright position. In some of the largest and most modern Ferris wheels or observation wheels, the vehicles or cars are mounted on the outside of the rim with electric motors independently rotating each car to keep it upright (e.g., motorized capsules such as The London Eye's passenger capsules).
Attempts to enhance or change the experience or thrill of the Ferris wheel have typically been limited to increasing the size of the wheel to increase the elevations at the top of the wheel's rotation and, in some cases, to change the shape of the wheel. These have not met all the needs or goals of park operators. Hence, there remains a need for new and thrilling rides that maintain the simplicity and major elements of a traditional park ride such as the Ferris wheel. In this way, a small footprint ride may be provided with simple control aspects, low development costs, and reasonable maintenance requirements while increasing the excitement and variability of the ride so as to attract repeat riders in direct contrast to the predictability and tameness of a conventional Ferris wheel.